Tubing closure



De. 2.6, 1944. H. R.| 1NDERFELT ETAL 2,365,888 I TUBING CLOSURE Filed NOV. 18, 1945 V TORS ATTORN EY Patented Dec. 26, 1944 PATENT c'iluricr.

. Manassas I 4 F u HalR; l-inde'relt and Clyde'E: Metheny,

i' f Oklahoma City, Okla. i A

Application November 1s, laisserai No. `510,820

fsicmims.- (Orissa-st) Our invention'relates to closures 'or caps for tubing, :and `more particularly to caps `for: temporarily `closing theA ends of tubing while .it is bei-ng stored, shipped, or otherwise handledprior to its permanent use. u Ihe primev object ofthe invention is to` provide aclosureffor the ends of threadless tubing sections,suchlasthose usedin connection with air., craft, for 'fuel or other fluid conveyance.

VIIhe` present.v invention .is intended as an'v improvemen't on vthe tubing closure disclosed in our pending patent 'applicationSerial yNumber 494,426,` filed `upon the y12th day of July, `1943, and. entitled Improvement in tubing closure.

vIn the closure 'of the former application, the end of the 'tubing section was permitted to contact thefinside surfacexof the end of the closure, lyand'wlrleri-fthe`closure is made of plastic material, it 'has been discovered that there is some danger of the metal tubing clipping off small particles .of the cap. These particles may well enter the tubing, and consequently when the tubing is installed and placed in service, they can and sometimes do cause trouble in the apparatus to which the tubing is connected.`

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a tubing closure so designedthat there is no possibility that particles thereof may become chipped off by the tubing and enter the same.

A further object is to provide a tubing closure so designed that it may be die-cast from plastic material, and yet "positively retain itself upon the tubing solely through its inherent resilience.

Another object is to provide a tubing closure which may be manually installed upon and removed from the tubing without the use of tools.

A still further object is to provide a device of this class which is sufliciently strong to prevent deformation of the tubing ends through normal handling.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying one-sheet drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, a portion being broken away to disclose the interior thereof;

Figure 2 is' an elevational view of the closure installed upon a tubing section; and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Like characters of reference` designate like parts in all the figures.

In the drawing:

The reference numeral l indicates, as a whole, a typical tubing section as commonly used in air-craftfor-conveying cating oil, etc. The sectionyl is formed with an annular enlargement 4or bulge g2 adjacent to but spaced Vslightly -from its extreme end 3. The -bulge Zllis usual withlair-,craft conveyor tubing. and -is provided for thepurpose vof lending frictional grip to `hose couplings and the like.` The closure `of the present invention is designed for use in connection with tubing sections having the `bulge 42, or its lmechanical equivalent.

The closure is lindicated as `a whole by the reference numeral,` andr consists substantially of l, the` following described integral parts.

,A vdisc-like end portion or closure plate 6 has, around its edge, a depending annular .flange 1. rI-he flange` 1 .has an inside -diameter slightly greater .than the outsidefdianieter of the tubing end u3,;so that when the closure is .installed upon the tubing, a slight annularspace 8, will be left between the two as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The flange 1 terminates in a plurality of circumferentially spaced lingers or prongs 9, each having an inwardly projecting arcuate lip ID adjacent its free end for frictionally engaging the sloping portion of the bulge 2 lying most remote from the tubing' end 3. The fingers 9 are each sufficiently thin for a portion of their longitudinal extent to permit the lips IIJ to be sprung slightly outwardly so as to pass over the crown of the bulge 2 as the closure is being installed.

In addition to the fingers 9 which depend from the outer edge of the flange 1, the inner wall of the flange 1 is extended longitudinally to provide` a -completely annular abutment Il. The abutment Il is sufficiently thick to be rigid, and is adapted to contact the bulge 2 and act as a stop for limiting the extent to which theclosure may be moved longitudinally upon the tubing.

`The abutment Il and lips I0 contact opposite sides or slopes of the bulge 2, and when the closure is in place upon the tubing, the abutment acts to hold the plate portion 6 clear of the end 3 of the tubing (Fig. 3).

Since the plate portion 6 of the closure does not come in contact with the tubing end 3, and since the inside diameter of the flange 1 is greater than the outside diameter of the tubing I, it is obvious that the end portion of the tubing cannot scrape the closure as the same is being installed. This prevents any possibility of particles of the plastic closure being chipped oil and entering the tubing. It is pointed out that the ngers 9 are somewhat longer than the distance between the lip I0 and the adjacent end ofthe abutment Il, and

nuids, such as fuel, lubrisure is of such a sizeA that a hose cannot be 1,

` installed thereover. Y

It is thought that the present tubing closure offers considerable improvement and many advantages over closures now in use.

We claim:

1. A closure for tubing having an annular enlargement spaced from its end, said closure including: a substantially cylindrical hollow cap having one closed end and adapted to t over said tubing end; circumferentially spaced 1ingers extending from said cap to a point beyond said enlargement and adapted to frictionally engage the same for holding the cap on the tubing; and a rigid stop carried by the cap for contacting the other side of the enlargement and preventing the closed end of the cap from contacting the tubing end.

2. A closure for tubing having an annular en-A largement spaced from its end, said closure including: a substantially cylindrical hollow cap having one closed end and adapted to t over said tubing end; circumferentially spaced resilient fingers extending from said cap to a point beyond said enlargement and adapted to frictionally engage the same for holding the cap on the tubing; and a rigid stop carried by the cap for contacting the other side of the enlarge- 4 ment and preventing the closed end of the cap from contacting the tubing end.

3. The combination with tubing having an annular enlargement adjacent its end, of a closure therefor including: a body formed to cover the tubing end and close the bore thereof; spaced resilient fingers extending beyond said enlargement and co-acting to surround and frictionally engage the lsame for holding the closure upon the tubing; and means carried by the body for contacting the enlargement and preventing lthe vclosed end of the body from contacting the tubing end.

body and coacting to surround the tubing; means carried by the ends of the lingers for fr ictional engagement over an enlargement on the tubing to hold the body thereon; and means carried by the body for engaging the enlargement and preventing contact between the tubing end and the closed end of the body.

5. As an article of manufacture, a tubing closure and protector including: a body adapted to t over the tubing end and close the bore there-v of; spaced resilient fingers extending from the body and coacting to surround the tubing; means carried by the ends of the fingers for frictional engagement over an enlargement on the tubing to hold the body thereon; and means carried by the body and engaging the enlargement for limiting movement of the body with relation to the tubing.

' HAL R. LINDERFELT.

CLYDE E. METHENY. 

